Thanks for the hugs. Another thing, which I didn't mention is that it made me cry for my children. Part of this was the lost independence they have in today's world, and part of it had to do with how precious gifts can be locked away by the realities of survival. I'm being vague here to avoid spoilers. I will join you in a new-to-me reading of Winesburg, Ohio. I remember that from the article you linked but it had fallen off my radar so I'm glad you mentioned it again. Let me know when.

Open a new tab and copy the URL of the page you will be linking to. Go back to the WTM tab, highlight the text you want to turn into a link, click the button that looks like a chain link (to the left of the numbered list button) and paste the URL you previously copied into the pop-up box.

Answers to Robin's questions: How many books did you read this year and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? I've read 50, but I'm finishing 2 more before the end of the year, so I will have met my goal. Share your top 5 (or more) favorite books. In order of reading, not preference: 1Q84, Ulysses, The Most Dangerous Book, The Sparrow, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and Marva Collins' Way. Yes, that's 6. Sorry, I tacked on one more at the end! Which books or authors you thought you'd never read and were pleasantly surprised to like them? I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Spoils of Poynton by James. One book that touched you - made you laugh, cry, sing or dance! The Heart is a Lonely Hunter touched me the most. Share your most favorite character, covers and/or quotes? Leopold Bloom (Ulysses) and others I need to think about. And from The Power of Myth, a poem by Guiraut de Borneilh (ca. 1138-1200?): So through the eyes love attains the heart: For the eyes are the scouts of the heart, And the eyes go reconnoitering For what it would please the heart to possess. And when they are in full accord And firm, all three, in one resolve, At that time, perfect love is born From what the eyes have made welcome to the heart. Not otherwise can love either be born or have commencement Than by this birth and commencement moved by inclination. By the grace and by command Of these three, and from their pleasure, Love is born, who its fair hope Goes comforting her friends. For as all true lovers Know, love is perfect kindness, Which is born—there is no doubt—from the heart and eyes. The eyes make it blossom; the heart matures it: Love, which is the fruit of their very seed. One book you thought you'd love but didn't? Ender's Game. After hearing so much about it I thought I would like it but I found it disturbing and strange. What countries or centuries did you explore? Japan, various takes on the 19th century, Ireland, England, the U.S. (Southern, Chicago, CA pioneers among those), Germany, Italy, a small patch of South Africa. What books would you recommend everybody read? Ulysses, The Most Dangerous Book, The Power of Myth, The Sparrow, anything by Murakami, The Waste Land, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, off the top of my head. What was your favorite part of the challenge? The books suggestions from everyone else and the community here. The suggestions really broadened my horizons and I feel lucky to be part of this supportive and fun group. My only regret, as they say, is that I didn't start sooner!

This week I finished Predictably Irrational and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. My goal is to finish The Power of Myth and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World before the end of the year. Predictably Irrational was a fun book, one that shows how humans make irrational economic decisions, often against their own best interest, and how this is different from economic models which mostly assume perfect rationality and self-interest. One of the most interesting examples was about lawyers who charged high rates who balked at giving lowered rates to low-income people who needed help, but who were happy to give their services for free. When offered a chance to do free work, they mentally compared it to other opportunities to volunteer and give, but when asked to lower their rates, they compared the lowered rate to their going rates instead. Another example was one on which college students were given a choice of buying Lindt truffles for 8 cents and Hershey's kisses for 1 cent and many more chose Lindt (considered higher quality) than the kisses. But when the prices were changed to 7 cents and free, respectively, many more people took the kisses even though the price spread was the same. I finished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at 2:00 am. I had originally picked up this book after Jane discussed it a few weeks ago. Allow me to back up and digress. One of my favorite songs is the . Knowing this, my friend called me during Michael Jackson's memorial service to tell me to watch the Smokey Robinson eulogy when it was eventually posted to Youtube. So I did, and and how he couldn't believe such a young child could sing that song with so much knowledge and soul, as if he was much older than his years. That's how I felt about Carson McCullers and this book. How in the world she could have so much soul and understanding about her environment and what makes people tick, at such a young age? At first my view of the book was affected by To Kill a Mockingbird, and I waited for some big event to create a climax in the first third or middle of the book. By the time the book was 75% done and all I had were some rambling (but interesting) plot points, I figured it was just going to be an book of Southern character sketches and that was more than enough, because I had become so invested in the people themselves; I felt love for them. But I had a niggling feeling which in retrospect I believe was possibly caused by my simultaneous reading of The Power of Myth, and as I progressed through the last quarter of the book, I just cried the whole time. I often tear up when reading things which resonate with me, but this was what I call "Where the Red Fern Grows bawling." And I was just so angry and my heart just hurt for everyone in the book.

The first year we watched birds we went to the Backyard Bird Count event nearby and for us anyway, it was so much easier and more effective to have experienced birders point out which birds were which than trying to find them in the book. I still know those birds better than the ones I tried to find myself, plus sometimes I wasn't really sure and in the meantime the bird flew away. I definitely recommend going to an event where local birders can show you. We also like the Merlin bird app. That's come in very handy many times.

I used Mandelbaum's translation for Inferno, which I believe was suggested by Eliana. This is the link to the one I used; there was some confusion on Amazon wrt incorrect reviews linked with incorrect translations/cover. I'm not sure if that's Amazon's fault or if reviewers are reviewing the incorrect item. I enjoyed this translation not only because of the wording, but the ease and enjoyment of having the original on the facing page.

Getting back to the title, I think I would acknowledge and apologize for my role in whatever pain I had caused, ask if we could put things behind us and start fresh, and make it my mission in life to never be in charge of planning anything with these people ever again. It's difficult to come to terms with the idea that you can be yourself and not everyone will like you. It's hard to be someone who is extroverted and generally confident in social situations and then be placed in circumstances in which you lose those things. Just remember, you can always fall back on good manners. I'm not saying you're ill-mannered, just that all those things people say and do to keep social interactions well-oiled can be relied upon in situations where you feel a bit at sea. :grouphug:

I think that class is not just strata designed by the government but also a social construct and a state of mind.

Hmmm. We are white collar here but one of my most important mentors is a blue collar mom without a college education who homeschooled her special needs child (and put him through an excellent liberal arts college), all while on disability. She was a member of a group of parents who were homeschooling special needs kids and they were all doing something different than each other. They only met in person or talked on the phone (nascent Internet days) and were of great support to each other. She moved last year and was giving away some old materials and they were simple workbooks but she made it work!

I'll let you know when I'm done. The reason I suggested a short time frame is only because it's such a small book. The pages are maybe 5"x 8" and it's only ~150 pages long. Big things come in small packages?

I think the actual underwater part takes 4 minutes or so, but it feels longer as it's subterranean before the actual water. It is dark and narrow. It was a very expensive project so of course they made it as narrow as possible. When the lights built into the sides whiz by they seem very close. It's been retrofitted and seismically upgraded since it was built. If there's a mechanical problem you'll have to wait in the tunnel. Track checking after earthquakes has become much faster, although I don't know the reason for that. Maybe there's more automation/sensors? If you were really to get stuck for some reason you can walk out of the tunnel, but I've lived here a long time and the only real problem I recall was a 6-hour delay after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. (The bridge didn't fare nearly as well, btw.)

I'm happy to send you my copy in a week or so, if you like. I'm being tempted by the Voyage of the Beagle plan.

We don't celebrate Christmas so my (Christian) in-laws send only one item each. This year I received Between the Word and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I'm really looking forward to reading it! I think I'll do that in January so I can discuss it with them soon.

My cities were in the West where I live, SLC being the farthest East. But some of the more "childhood" words showed my more Eastern upbringing until the age of 7. And I had a good match with New England, especially Maine, even though when I lived in the East I was much lower than that.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! May you have a wonderful and peaceful day.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Hugs to all who are having a tough time right now.

It's difficult to talk about compensation because many of the large tech companies give lots of perks which can add up to quite a bit. Stock options are another consideration. Would he be getting any, and is the company publicly traded? Some rentals have car parking but you'll pay a lot. Some people also rent out private unused parking. Many people use a car share so they can exit the city. It's often cheaper to just get a car when you need it, unless you are planning to leave the city quite often and go away from BART/Caltrain/ferry lines. Have you looked into car shares?

I'll be back with more later but I wanted to put Lowell into your mind as an excellent public high school, if you want to read up on it. Here's an AP list (check both columns). They are one of the few local schools doing AP Latin, for example.

OK, we've located the Instant Pot, read the instructions, and will try making Mexican beef tonight.

Thank you very much! Yes, I am LC although I've not been as strict with the holidays. But the rest of my family is not LC so non-LC recipes are great too. Thanks again!

Yeah, I feel kind of guilty for not having used it yet. I think I know where it is, but I'm not sure. I've never used a slow cooker or pressure cooker before. I do braise a lot of items, but just in my cast iron dutch oven on low heat. Off to look...

Thanks! I think I might have the best luck with sewing due to the lack of repetitive patterns. I have tried to learn to knit before (with in-person coaching) and it was a disaster. Same with my daughter's rainbow loom and learning to tie different knots. I think it's the same reason I'm not good at drawing: my brain fills in things and I can't look at them as they really are. So if I make a mistake knitting, it's had for me to see it and to back it out because I now just see the whole swath. Or something. It's hard to explain. This drawing sums up my experience with the drawing, painting, and textile arts. Great picture! Cedar waxwings are on my "to see" list. They live around here but are not very common and several times I have been told "I just missed them" so maybe it's not to be.

I bought one awhile ago (after reading threads here) but haven't gotten around to opening it. Maybe I should because I have a tri-tip in the fridge....

:hurray: I can sleep again! Woohoo! :laugh:

The oldest or wealthiest daughter and her husband. If the children are not yet married another family member would probably take them all in, considering it temporary until a daughter was married. It's a form of tribalism, social security, and duty. Things are slowly changing though. More people are moving farther away from home and until my generation, in my (huge) family there were no divorces. It's going to become more complicated.